Spyfall could also be called Spycraft.
It was born out of a simple idea of repetitive echoes of a combined sound comprising marimba and strings.
I love the Marimba - it's one of my favourite sounds.
And then, when I heard what I had imagined, it drew me to a foreign city, where cloaks and daggers are everywhere.
Where men in dark coats stand smoking in doorways waiting for the snow to settle, and to carry on with the darkest of deeds.
Discover where this piece takes you - and enjoy.
And please share with me how this makes you feel, by adding your comment below.
Thank you. QJ.
Here is the music...
spyfall.mp3
spyfall.wav
A very moody piece that grew on me as it progressed. Well done.
Surprisingly, I liked it, (but preferred the 2nd one), had an edgy feel to it, very murder mystery which I thought I wouldn’t take to but I did. Very cool and some serious talent there QJ, well done
Thank you so much, Anne Marie. So kind of you to say such things. Which was the 2nd one, btw? Was it ‘Alter Ego’?
Hitchcock. Black and white. Film Noir. A threat around every corner. Yet the pursuit is slow and quiet. Stylish and subtle. Lots of backward glances and hiding in doorways. Is the threat real or imagined?
Love it QJ!
The dependability of this track is part of the timeless thrill it delivers. For me, it’s a backdrop to the escapades delivered in the best traditions of spy movies. I initially sensed a 50’s film shot in black and white. QJ sets the scene perfectly for a psychologically aware thriller – we may even end up behind enemy lines! Or, I could possibly advance to the late 60’s or early 70’s on a mostly wet day in Paris or London – lifted only by shades of early days Technicolor. This is a journey back to a time when one’s curiosity in a mystery gets enhanced by the distinct presence of inquisitive instruments which accompany the arising puzzles and question-marks in one’s thoughts. Thankfully, there is none of the cinematic flash, bang, wallop of a fast-edited and oppressive assault to the senses, as some suffer when entering a state-of-the art cinema – to view a modern Bond thriller – while holding a box of popcorn in one hand and a couple of paracetamol in the other. We are not under attack, though you may like to keep the official sunglasses on just for now. We are in the movie, walking side by side with a couple of other over-coated ‘strangers’. Both a composer and a cryptographer appeared for this composition – Leo Marks would have loved it! The power of QJ to enable such thoughts via ‘Spyfall’ cannot be understated. For me, It’s as good as they get.
Thanks for introducing Leo Marks. Fascinating!
Cautious, nervous progress, perhaps physical, perhaps fugurative, on some required and probably inescapable path. There’s not dread but some slightly fearful anticipation, both for the subject and the listener.
I don’t know enough of JB to pick out the signature parts.
Somehow more compelling or involving on the second listen. I can’t explain that, other than to say I have a lot going on of late, which was maybe a distraction, the first time around.
Sinister dark tense, wary and a feel of Chinese or Japanese gangs versus mid twentieth century spies, loved it
Thanks for listening and commenting, Phillipa. I like that you heard something oriental in the music.
First, I really like it. My thoughts don’t form a coherent whole but here they are.
Sounds like the music for the credits – possibly a French serie noir rather than a German crimi. Love the instrumentation, with the John Barry rasping bass notes – dark remake of The Saint or John Le Carre? The tonality makes it accessible but the clashes of competing strands suggests opposition, menace and something inescapable. Could be covert forces or something psychological. Good for radio series – Limelight? Very ‘listenable’ – ends too soon!
Cold dark night, what waits around the corner, in the distance a mysterious man in great coat and trilby, face covered by collar, overflowing waste bins, a very small dimly lit window ….
From the start of the piece, with staccato beats of the percussion and the marimbas, to iconic, thriller-style piano responses, I’m a bit spooked. The cat and mouse of the keyboard then joins the chase and I’m feeling nervous and jittery. The musical progression has both a song and an anti-song, with a discordant tune and the continued punching back beat, which feels as if it’s calling out the surveillance and espionage of the dark underbelly of the cold war, the underground movement, or the secret agent manoeuvres. As the music disappears into thin air with three, haunting piano notes, I tell myself: Spyfall or Spycraft? Who cares? For me, it’s the word spying that really matters. Take care. Don’t look behind you. Someone’s following you!
I do like it! The stereo imagery works very well, especially the bounced echoes. I expected some kind of “shock” but that didn’t happen and it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. My vision for this piece is one of a procession, or march (maybe mechanical/ robotic), relentless, determined and driven. Ironically it’s somehow predictable, linear.
I may appear negative, but that’s not the case, I do appreciate the work involved.
More Jules Maigret than James Bond. There is a Parisian feel to this.
Wow! That’s great. Thank you. Detectives! Spies! Any country! It matters not. What matters is the journey.
This has theme music to a TV detective series written all over it !! Perfect!
Fantastic! So all I need know is an exec from Netflix, Amazon, HBO, (other producers are available) to call me, and it’ll happen!
Definitely has a ‘Touch of the Bond’ about it. The tension build slowly and I am trying to imagine what sort of screen action this would enhance. Something requiring a great deal of concentration, something with a gory end if it should all go wrong. Breaking into somewhere. Somewhere confined.
Certainly very atmospheric. I love it.